


the tie

by aykroyd



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 17:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8294032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aykroyd/pseuds/aykroyd
Summary: it's not just about the tie, but saying that would involve talking about your feelings





	

Richard, Dinesh, and Gilfoyle are typing on their computers in the dining room of Erlich’s humble incubator. The typing is the only thing filling the room, other than the sighs that can periodically heard coming from Richard’s station. 

A sigh. 

“Richard. Please shut the fuck up,” Gilfoyle mutters. “It’s extremely hard to concentrate with all that unchecked teenage angst filling the room.” 

Richard stops typing and leans backwards in his chair, he catches sight of the tie hanging from the server room door and then quickly leans back up.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure, I’ll stop, I’m just— Oh, boy, I’m just so swamped, I’m overwhelmed, you know?” He giggles nervously. “So much work to do. Work, work, work.” Gilfoyle and Dinesh share a confused look. 

“Uh, what’s up, dude?” Dinesh asks, not really caring. 

“Oh? Me? Nothing, nothing, like I said, just like super swamped.” Richard replies. Dinesh leans over and sees one window open on Richard’s screen. 

“Oh, yeah, man, that code looks… overwhelming.” He stifles a laugh.

Richard, flustered, turns his monitor away from Dinesh. 

“It’s, you know, not just code! Running a business can be extremely—“

The server room door opens. Jared steps out, he holds the door open for a brunette woman. He puts a hand to the small of her back and walks her to the door. Richard follows Jared the entire way with his eyes. 

Jared lets the girl out of the front door and turns back to the room. Richard fumbles with the headphones on his desk and stuffs them onto his head. 

Jared looks at Richard with confusion, his eyebrows furrowed. 

Dinesh smiles widely at Jared. “You gotta show me how you do that, man. Your luck with women is… truly unbelievable.”

Jared smiles awkwardly. “I’d love to show you my research. It’s—“

Gilfoyle interjects, “Stop. He was making fun of you.” A shocked look crosses Jared’s face. 

“I don’t know how, my so-called success with women should be, in your eyes, a good thing—“ 

“Jared, Jared, please, you’re embarrassing yourself.” Gilfoyle interrupts again. 

Jared opens his mouth to speak, holding a finger in the air, but quickly reconsiders. He walks swiftly back to the server room. He looks back over his shoulder at Richard. They make eye contact for a short moment before Richard snaps his attention back to the screen. Jared takes a short breath and pushes into his room. 

Jared stares at the tie on the door. He looks at the back of Gilfoyle’s head then back to the door. 

“I’m just going to, I’m… The tie’s still on the door, so…” Richard whispers. 

“What did you say?” Dinesh asks. Richard slips off his headphones. 

“Nothing, nothing important, uh… I’m going to go check on Jared.” Gilfoyle and Dinesh share another look. 

“Uh, okay.” Dinesh says. 

Richard pushes back in his chair, he trips on his headphone cord and stumbles toward the server room door. 

Richard presses an ear to the door. He snatches the tie off the knob and knocks lightly. 

Jared appears in the doorway. A solemn expression lights up into a wide smile.

“Richard! Oh, hi! Come in, come in!” Jared steps back into his room and makes a large sweeping hang gesture and bows slightly. Richard’s face flushes, but he steps inside. Jared closes the door behind them as Gilfoyle and Dinesh crane their heads to see. 

“I thought you were extremely busy, I mean you ignored me earlier, I just thought—“ Jared stammers.

“You didn’t take the tie down.” Richard spurts out. Jared’s open mouth closes, with his eyes searching Richard’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Gilfoyle wants me to use the tie as a symbol when I have company so—“ 

“I know what the tie’s for, Jared, but your ‘friend’ or whatever already left, so the tie shouldn’t still be on the knob.” Richard weakly throws the tie towards Jared, who catches it easily. 

“Did I do something to offend you, Richard, because if I have I will do everything in my power to correct it, seeing you this upset over something I did is… extremely uhm,” tears form in Jared’s eyes, “uhm, extremely concerning to me.” 

Richard looks at Jared and huffs. The throws his hands up in frustration. 

“Don’t cry, you don’t get to cry, I’m just simply trying to explain that the tie doesn’t need to be on the door if you’re not… having guests over.” 

Jared wipes his eyes haphazardly. “Richard, it’s not for guests, it’s for people I’m having sex with, if it was for guests I’d still have the tie up. Because you’re here.” Hearing this makes Richard’s ears and cheeks blush a harsh red. 

“I don’t— Uh, I don’t want to hear who you’re having sex with, honestly Jared.” Jared looks confused again and takes a small step towards Richard. 

“Is that what’s upsetting you? The fact that I’m bringing women into the house? I can stop if it’s distracting or unprofessional.” Richard presses his lips hard together. Jared reaches out a hand as if to touch Richard’s arm, but thinks better of it and limply drops his arm. 

“No, I don’t care about the women,” Richard muses. He stifles nervous laughter, “Why would I care about the women. That would be ridiculous, you’re allowed to, you know, do whatever, that’s not, I’m not,” He takes a long drawn out breath. “I only cared about the tie, you shouldn’t leave the tie up, we might need access to the server room, you know, for… data and… such.” 

“Richard, if you don’t mind me saying, that doesn’t seem like that’s the only reason you’re upset. I’d be more than happy to act as a bouncing board for any unresolved issues you’d like to get out.” Jared smiles widely at Richard and cocks his head to the side. Seeing Richard’s disdain, however, makes his smile fade. 

“Stop being so nice! God! Ah! You make me want to rip my hair out, it’s so frustrating how… Accommodating you are, how supportive, how hopeful, and… affectionate. Why are you so… disgustingly caring? Why do you do that?” He pauses and looks into Jared’s eyes, the constant confused look still stagnant on his face. “It’s… it’s…” Jared takes another step forward. He’s entirely too close for Richard’s comfort. He can see tears still swimming in Jared’s eyes.

“Do you want to sit down?” Jared clears his throat, “I could grab you a coconut water from the fridge, if you want.” Another hopeful smile. 

Richard lets out a frustrated strangled yell.

“Forget it! I have to go to… meeting… fuck! A meeting.” He steps back from Jared and turns towards the door, he heaves it open. “Just keep the tie off the door.” He steps into the common area and slams the door closed.

“Lovers quarrel?” Gilfoyle asks sarcastically. 

“Fuck off!” Richard yells widely before closing himself into the bathroom. 

—

“Why! Why did you do that!? Stupid, stupid, stupid,” He punctuated every stupid by lightly slamming his head against the side of the tub where he sat nestled inside of it. 

A light knock at the door. 

Jared’s muffled voice calls from the other side. “Richard? Can I come in?”

“Go away!” Richard yells. 

“Do you really want me to leave?” Jared’s voice calls again, wavering slightly. 

Richard sighs. He turns over in the bathtub.

“Fine, come in.” He calls, talking directly at the wall. The door slowly opens. Jared stands immobile in the doorway for a short beat. He swipes his hand over his eyes and then squeezes his hands together. He strides into the bathroom and crouches beside the bathtub. He reaches in and places a hand on Richard’s arm. Richard flinches and Jared hastily removes it, moving it to the rim of the tub. 

“Richard, you’re in the tub.” Jared all but whispers. 

“I know I’m in the tub, Jared.” Richard mumbles towards the wall. 

“You only go to the tub when you’re really upset. Have I really upset you that much?” Richard flops around in the tub until he’s facing Jared. Richard’s breath hitches in his throat as he sees the pained look covering Jared’s face.

“Jared, I—“ Richard sighs and scrambles into a sitting position. 

“It’s not you, okay! You’re perfect! Anytime anything’s wrong with me, you fix it! You’re the only one who cares about me at all, you’re the only one that understands how I work and how I do… everything. You just… fit so perfectly into my life.” Jared shifts and sits down on the bathroom floor. He folds his arms over themselves on the rim of the tub and leans in close to Richard, he searches his face frantically. 

“Richard, that’s exactly how I feel about you. You’re the only one at Pied Piper that’s ever really shown me kindness, or treated me as if I’m a human being and not some sort of highly expressive robot. I never knew you felt that way.” Jared looks down at his chest and smiles, tears rolling down his face. “But, Richard, why are you so upset, then, if you’re not mad at me?” Richard leans closer to Jared. 

“Okay! Okay! I’m upset about the women. I’m upset because you bring all these girls home and it doesn’t even cross your mind that that might affect me. It made me realize that you don’t… That you don’t…Uhm… You don’t…” Richard can’t finish the sentence, his face flushes all the way to the tip of his nose. Jared cocks his head to the side. A long beat, Richard avoids eye contact and Jared chases it. 

“Richard,” Jared whispers, “You don’t mean…” Richard stands up suddenly.

“Forget about it,” He giggles anxiously, steps over Jared sitting on the floor, “Forget I said anything, this was stupid, I—“ Jared quickly pulls himself off the floor and grabs Richard’s hand right as he reaches for the knob. 

“Richard. I have loved you with all of my heart since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

He pulls Richard’s hand so that he stumbles into Jared’s chest. He holds Richard’s face gently in his hands and looks down at him. “You have grossly underestimated my devotion for you.” He whispers gently, his lips grazing Richard’s.


End file.
